Former Gov. Mitt Romney may be leading the Republican presidential pack in fundraising, but his poll numbers in New Hampshire lag behind those of Rudy Guiliani and John McCain.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported Wednesday that the poll was taken over the last week among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani held steady at 29 percent, with Mitt Romney creeping up to 17 percent. Headlines the past two days that Romney raised more money this quarter than any other Republican helped his numbers.

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"We came from a point where not very many people knew us, and now, we're very clearly the upper tier," said Tom Rath, Romney's spokesman.

But McCain's camp dismisses that theory, pointing out the Granite State is where Romney has a second home, and he's the only candidate to have run television ads in New Hampshire this year.

"A lot of people said, 'John McCain has had not that great a month because of Iraq.' This shows he is holding strong. His message of reform still is making the case in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney has been on TV in New Hampshire. He's a neighboring governor, but he's still lagging in the polls," said Rob Gray, McCain's spokesman.

A look at their favorable and unfavorable ratings show Guiliani leading and McCain right behind. Romney's numbers lag, but not substantially. His campaign insists that New Hampshire voters are examining him seriously for the first time.

"We're looking at him in a different way. I think when he comes in as a candidate for president, we put him in a different prism. We want to judge him. We've known John McCain for eight years. Rudy Guiliani had the most extraordinary several months that anybody in public life could have. Compared to those people, Mitt Romney is a relative newcomer," Rath said.

The poll also shows certain vulnerabilities aren't affecting their candidacies. For Romney, his religion makes no difference to 86 percent of those polled. For McCain, his age is of no importance to 78 percent, and for Guiliani, his multiple marriages do not matter to 85 percent. The bottom line is that McCain's campaign insist the numbers spell good news.

"They like the fact, as he says, 'I care more about winning a war instead of an election.' He's a stand-up guy, speaks his mind," Gray said.

McCain's campaign also points out that the candidate has made only two visits to the Granite State this year, although he won the New Hampshire primary six years ago against George W. Bush.

The Arizona senator also said that in three weeks, he will formally announce his candidacy in a series of stops across the country. The first event will be in New Hampshire.